Foot-propelled toy vehicle



June 15 1926. 4 1588,867

A. R.iWlNANS Y 7 Foo'r PROPELLED ITOY vEHIcLE Filed July 14. 1922 3Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTY."

June 1s ,1928. 1,588,887

A. R. wlNANs l FOOT PROPELLED TOY VEHCLE 'Filed July 14. 1922 ssheets-sheet 2 Vfl/2.a ifiI j l I 71 I l g 2 l 3 ,Gg 1 ...L z2.

/NYEN TOR u .June 15 1926. l

. 1,588,867 A. R. wlNANs FooT PROPELLED TOY VEHICLE Filed July 14, 1922s she-ets-shee s ya@ n@ Patented June 15, 1926.

Unire sra ALBERT R. XTINANS, OF BAVISEY, NEW J application inse my 1i,

My invention relates to ohildrens vehiclesl quite commonly calledscooters, and it has to do with the general. structure oi' the vehicle,and the means by which it may be propelled by a pumping` or pedal actionapplied to the rear Wheel. ln vehicles of the type to which myimprovement belongs, it has been customary to provide a foot board uponwhich the rider places his left toot, i'vhile the right foot is used togive the tor- Ward impulse at intervals by pushing upon the ground orroadway. When suiiicient speed is acquired in this manner, the ridersupports his entire Weight upon the foot board, and permits the scooterto travel for- Ward until the torce of the impulses so given has becomespent, when the operation is repeated. `With my improvement, the riderhas only to operate the pedal With his right foot in order to continuehis headway.

rhe invention conteniplates a peculiar form ot' clutch mechanism bywhich the pumping action oit the pedal is communicated to the rear axlein order to continue the forward motion of the vehicle, and also animproved 'form of brake, by which the progress may be checked at will.

The invention also contemplates many im-A provements in structuraldetails, which Will be clearly set vforth in the 'following` description and covered in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the vehicle, but vvit-h the handle bar and partof the steeringl fork cut oil" for clearness.

Fig. 2 isa side elevation.

Fig. 8 is a. front elevation of the front- Wheel and steering forli.

Fig'. et is a vertical section et therear or driving` wheel, showing;the structure of tl'ie improved clutch mechanism and parts of thebearings. V

Figs. 5, G. 7, 87 9 and lO-illustrate several of the details et thesame.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary. plan View of the pedal and brake with theirrespective bearings upon the chassis.

Fig. 12 is a side elevation ot the same.

Fig. 13 is a plan, Fig. 141 is a llett side elevation and Fig. 15 aright side elevation of the brale mechanism detaehedfrom the chassis.

111i ff. 16 is :i reali* View of therear Wl l5 Fbnning 'the rotativeposition. oit the 'per .il

1.522,. Serial il'o. 575,005.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts threughoutthedescription and drawings.

rlthe chassis comprises a pair et side frames 1, 27 which are heldtogether by means o't a foot board, 3, the upper face of which is flushwith the upper edges ofthe two side frames, 1.v 2, the said toot boardbeing` ield rigidly in place by the rods 41, 5, 6 Which passtransversely through the toot board 3 and have their outer ends rivetedoutside ot the Webs of the tivo side trames 1, 2. he forward ends et theframes are bent upwardly as shown at 7, 8 with their upper endscainbered to approach each other and then bent parallell to each otheras shown at `9, 10 but spaced apart to receive betvveen them the Wingset the hinge l1 to Whichthey are secured by means ot the rivets 12. Theside 'frame 2 is provided with the offset 18 towards its rear end so asVto atord space within which to mount the driving` mechanism hereinafterreferred to. The rear ends j ot thetwo side trames 1, 2 are upwardlycambered as at 141 and provided With aperturesto receive the rear axle15 upon Which the Wheel 16 is mounted.

The 'steering mechanism comprises the tvvo shown in Fig. 8 and providedvvith aper-bv tures at their lower end to receive the or- Ward axle 18which supports the Wheel 19. The two braces 20, 21 are inserted atsuitable points bet-Weenthe members 17, 18 Where they are rigidlysecured in place by the process known in the art as electricalspot-Welding'7 but kit desired these braces may be riveted in place. A.spacing stud, 22 is inserted between the upper portion of the members17, 18 and rivetedin place. rThe upper ends ofthe two members 17a 18 areprovided with suitable apertures through which the handle bar rod 28 isinserted with the thimble 2st mountedthereon; the handle bar grips 25,26 are mounted upon the rod 28 and then the ends et said rod are rivetedover as shown at 2T to firmly unite. the parts together. i

rlfhe tivo braces 20, 21 are spaced apart a sutiicient distance topermit the insertion therebetween et the tubulailiead of the hinge 1.1,so that the vertical aperturev therethrough may register 'with aperturesin braces iter the .insertion ot Y l i i, 1 i which is' held in -u terpini 2?? the king pin 28. f anser the cote lVhile' I haveA shown theside frames l, 2 and the steering fork member 17, 18l as made of channelbar as a preferred form of construction, because of its lightnesscoupled with its strength, yet I do ynot wish to be confined to thisparticular forml of material since other commercial shapes such as anglebars, flat bars or l'ialf-roi'mds or tubing would serve the purposeequally well.

The wheels 16 and 19 are of the type known in the art as disc wheels;that is to say, the sides of the wheels are made up of pressed sheetmetal discs of the general form and contour shown in Fig. 4. The twowheels are of substantially the same construction with the exceptionthat the wheel 19 has its right hand half provided with the operatingmechanism for propelling'vthe vehicle. Referring to Fig. 4, it should bestated that the left hand half of the wheel is identical in Constructionwith both halves of the wheel 19 and it is therefore not deemednecessary to further illustrate the details of the wheel 19. .4s shownin Fig. 4, the disc 30 is shown as suitably (lished and provided withthe arcuate peripheral flange 31. The other disc 32 is similarly dishedand provided with a corresponding peripheral flange 33. lllhen these twodiscs are united as shown in Fig. 4, the two fianges 31, 33' form aperipheral groove to receive the tubular tire34, which may be formed ofordinary straight rubber tube cut to suitable length to span around thewheel and held in place by means of the wire 35, whose ends are twistedtogether, as will be readily understood. Thel disc 30 is provided with acentral flanged aperture 361, in which the tubular hub `37v is inserted.About midway the length ofthe hub 37, its external diameter is reducedto form a shoulder 38 against which the pressed metal cone clutch member39 is forced. The disc 32 is dish'ed substantially the same as the dise8O for a portion of its area but is flattened and its center providedwith inwardlyT directed flange 40 within which the cylindrical part ofthe cone clutch member 39 isy inserted. As a convenient and economicalmethod of uniting the discs 30, 32, hub S7 and clutch member 39' I usethe process of electrical spot welding atl their points of contact, thatis, the flange 36 is welded to the end of the h-u'b 37, the cylindricalpart of the member 539, the h'ub 37 and flange 40 are all spot weldedtogether and the line of contact between the two discs 30 are spotwelded at a number of points. If desired the discs may be rivetedtogether instead of being welded. As thus constructed, these parts arevery firmly and rigidly united and their Cost of production is reducedto a minimum.

The ends of the hub 37 are counterbored as at 41, 4 2 to receive theball bearings 43', 44 of any desired or preferred type but preferably ,Iuse what is known as a radial bearing. The rear arde 15isinserted'through the ball bearings 43, 44 and is provided near itsends with adjusting'l nuts, 45, 46, screwed on to the end of the axle sothat said nuls may be screwed up against the ball bearings to take upall lost motion therein and properly adjust them. The aperturcd rea endsof the two side frames 1, 2 receive the ends of the axle 15 with thenuts 47, 48 screwed upon said axle outside the frame ends, so to ioldthe same rigidly against external faces of the nuts 45, 46 and thusfirmly secure the axle andl frame together. The clutch meinber 39, isinternally cone'd as clearly shown in Fig. 4, and within it is insertedthe internally threaded and externally coned clutch member 49. Thisclutch member is mounted upon the screw pulley 50, the inner end ofwhich is correspondingly screw threaded as at 51' with what is known inthe art as a double thread left hand screw. This screw pulley 50 has aninternal diameter of a size to fit the reduced end of the hub 37 andturn freely thereon. lt will be noted that when the clutch members 39,4l) and the screw pulley 50 are assembled as shown in Fig. 4, theclockwise turning' ol. the pulley 5t) will force the member 49 intoclose contact with the member 39 while a reverse rotation of the pulley50 will separate the two clutch members. The outer end of the pulley 50is counter-bored to a larger internal diameter as at 52 to form aninternal shoulder 53. Upon the exposed end of the hub 37, l mount athrust ring 54 securing` the same in place by a series of small screwstuds 55 which are conveniently inserted and screwed home through anaperture 56 in the screw pulley. At the opposite end of the cone member39, is a thrust washer 57, so that while the screw pulley 50 may freelyrotate upon the hub 97 all end-wise movement is prevented by the thrustring 54 and washer 57. l

If now the axle 15 is held relatively tionary and the pulley 50periodically rotated and stopped the resultwill be that during,- theinitial part of such rotation. the clutch cone 49 will be screwed homeagainst the clutch member S39, thereafter carrying' with it the saidmember 1&9 and the body of the wheel 16. lf now, the pulley is stoppedthe momentum of the wheel will carry it forward and with it the clutchcone 49 until such time as it runs backward upon the screw threads 51and the two cone members separated. lo that, each time the pulley 50 isrotated for vard, the cones are brought into contact with each other andall parts rotate together. If the pulley 50 is rotated in the oppositedirection, with the wheel either stationary or runnin-g forward, theresult will be a sepan ration of the two cones 39, 49. This re verserotation ot the pulley 50 is effected by the coil spring 58, the innerend 59 ot which is bent outwardly and extends into a slot 60 in thepulley while its other end is extended forward parallel to the sidetrame 2 and inserted into an aperture 62 in the same. This -)pring isput under considerable tension so as to give the hub 50 a considerablecounterclookwise bias, so that when the screw pulley 50 is otherwisereleased the spring 58 will rotate said pulley and withdraw the cone 49from Contact with the cone clutch member' 39. Secured to the peripheryof t-he pulley 50 is `the drive strap 63, said drive strap being wrappedaround the pulley and having its 'free end secured between the wings otthe drive strap hinge 64, which in turn is connected to the hinge pintle.65 at the upper end oi the L-shaped pedal lever 66, which latter ismounted upon a triangu-v lar pedal bracket 67 pivoted upon the pedalshaft 68, said shat't being supported in apertures in the side trames 1and 2. ln Order that the pedal may rock ireely upon the shaft 68,without binding or cramping, l secure to the side ot the bracket 67a U-shaped pedal brace 69 in such a manner that the shaft passes throughboth limbs oit the brace and in effect provides a long bearing upon theshaft it'or the pedal in its rockingV motion. The forward limb ot thepedal exi tends parallel with the center line ot' the chassis frame in`order to permit the operator to place his right toot thereon and depressthe same. The depression ot the tor-V ward end of t-he pedal will otcourse elevate the4 rear end and exert a pull upon the drive strap 63which in turn will rotate the pulley 50 against the tension oi thespring 58. Upon releasing the pressure upon the pedal 66, the spring 58will restore the parts and wind the strap 63 back on the pulley 59.

In order to relieve the spring 58 somewhat, I provide a contractilespring 70, connecting one end oit' the same to the lower point of thetriangular bracket 67 and the other end to a screw eye71, inserted inthe under face ot the toot board 3. The pedal lever 66, has a pedalboard 72 secured to the side face thereof by meansy of a pair ot rivets73, 74 which pass horizontally through the saine and are riveted to thelever 66 and to the pedal board bracket 75 so as to make a very rigidstructure. The t'orward end ot the pedal board is covered with a. stripof corrugated rubber 77 so as to form a firm foothold 'lior theoperator.

The brake consists of a pair of frame members 76, 77 each of which isstamped from sheet metal into the general form illustrated in Figs. 14and 15, and they are connected together' by means of the thimble 78,through which the pedal shaft 68 passes.

Between the forward ends et the two 'frame members "6, 7 7 isa brakeroller 79, in position to bear upon the periphery of the wheel 16. Theupper ends ol:I the two members 7 6, 77 are laterally splayed so as toform a flat bearing support t'or the brake board 8U which is secured inplace by means ot the bolts 81. The member 77 has a forwardly extendingtoe 82, which projects just beneath the rear end of the toot board 3, soas to form a stop for the brake. rlhe member 76 is provided with a smallaperture 83 from which the coil spring 84 extends vt'orwardly with itsforward end connected to a screw eye 85 inserted in the lower face otthe t'oot board as shown in Figs. 14 and 15. The brake board 8O is inconvenient position for the operator to place his lheel thereon anddepress the same so as to bring the brake.

roller into irm but yielding contact with the rear wheel 16.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the objects of theinvention above set t'orth are t'ully carried out by a structure whichis easy to operate, comparatively cheap to construct and yet hrm andrigid and capable of Vwithstanding very rough usage. l regard thedriving clutch mecha nism as an,importantfeature of my inventioninasmuch as the broad bearing suriaces atiiorded by the double lett handscrew thread therein atlords such a broad bearing between the screwpulley 59 and the'clutch cone 49 that the parts are capable ofwithstanding rougher, and harder usage than would be atlorded by theusual ball clutch device found in so many ot' the well known coasterbrakes, while it possesses all of the quick release features ot the oldstyle of clutch mechanism. The thrust of the clutch members 39, 49whentlirown into action by the rotation. of the screw pulley 50 Vissustained entirelyby the ring 54 and the member 39. This l regard as animportant feature olf my improvement, for the bearings 43, 44 arerelieved ot all thrust and strain except such as may come from actualrunning conditions.

It will be noted that the hexagonal` part of the nut 46 is considerablylonger than the corresponding part ot the nut 45. This is so that whenthe spring 58 is wound up by the rotation of the pulley 50 it will wrapit is mounted upon and supported solely by the screw part of the pulley50; that upon the rotation of the pulley the member 49 would simplyrotate with it without any latn eral movement, This would be the caseit" the operative movement of the pulley were slow but its rotation isquick, and the member 49 is comparatively loose fitting, so that itsinertia permits the quick rotative movement of the pulley 50 to advanceit laterally against the member 39, when, of course, the rotativemovement of the pulley will be communicated to the member 39 through themember 49;

The various parts of this structure admirabl-y lendv themselves toeconomi al manufacturing processes and quick and easy assembly of parts.

I claim: y

1. In a foo-t propelled vehicle, the combination of achassis comprisinga pair of longitudinal side frames arranged in parallel havingv upturncdforward ends, a footboard' located between and rigidly secured to saidframes, a single driving wheel mounted between said frames in their rearends, a pair of forlr members rigidly vspaced apart, and a steeringwheel mounted between the lower ends of said fork members.

2. In a two-wheeled foot propelled vehicle the combination of a chassishaving a pair oi side frames rigidly spaced apart in parallel a footboard located therebetween, a driving axle rigidly mounted in the rearends of said frames a single driving wheel thereon and a steeringwheelsecured between forward upturned ends of said frames.

3. In a two-wheeled foot propelled vehicle, the combination of a pair ofside frames arranged in parallel and having their forward ends upwardlyand forwardly inclined, a foot board spacing' said frames apart midwayof their length and rigidly secured thereto, a pedal shaft mounted uponsaid frames a single driving wheel thereon and an oscillating pedalmounted upon said shaft.

t. In afoot propelled vehicle, the combination of a chassis having' adriving wheel and a steering wheel with a steering` fork thereforrespectively mounted upon the ends thereof, said wheels each comprisinga pair of dished metal `discs secured together at their peripherics, andtubular hubs at their centers, relatively tired axles mountedrespectively upon the rear end of said chassis and upon the steering'fork and passing respectively through said tubular hubs andanti-friction bearings between said hubs and said axles respectively.

5. In a foot propelled vehicle, the combination with the chassis,driving' and steering wheels, respectively mounted thereon, of drivingmechanism, comprising` a clutch cone member rigidly secured to the hubof said drivingwheel, a screw pulley sleeved upon said hub to rotatethereon a. clutch cone mounted upoi'iiiv said screw pulley,

messer and means upon said chassis for rotating said pulley to causesaid clutch members to engage and rotate together.

ti. in a foot propelled vehicle, the combination of ay chassis and adriving` wheel mounted thereon, a cone clutch member rigidly secured tothe hub of said wheel, a pulley having a screw thread thereon, a secondcone clutch member having an internal thread cooperating with saidpulley thread, and means for rotating` said pulley to force said clutchmembers into engagement whereby said driving' wheel and pulley rotatetogether.

7. In a foot pr pellcd vehicle, the combination of a chassis, a driving'wheel mount ed upon said chassis, said driving' wheel having a tubularhub, a female cone clutch member rigidly mounted upon said hub, a screwpulley sleeved upon said hub to rotate thereon with the screw portion ofsaid pulley located within said female clutch member, an internallythreaded male cono clutch member mounted upon the threaded portion ofsaid screw pulley and a thrust ring rigidly secured to said hub foreenlining,` said screw pulley thereon, and means upon the chassis forrotating` said screw pulley, whereby said male clutch member is forcedinto frictional engagement with said female clutch member to cause saidwheel to rotate therewith.

8. In a two wheeled foot propelled vehicle, the combination of achassis, a front steering' wheel, and a rear driving` wheel mounted inalignment upon said Chassis, a foot board for supporting` one foot ofthe operator, mounted upon said chassis, a pedal lever pivotally mountedat the side of said chassis, said lever having a strap connectionleading to the hub of the driving' wheel, a clutch member rigidlysecured to said hub, a second clutch member rotatively mounted upon saidhub and having` said strap connection secured thereto, whereby theoscillation of said lever will cause a continuous rotation of saiddriving` wheel.

9. In a foot propelled two wheeled vehicle the combination of acluissis, a forward steering wheel and a rear drivingwheel mounted uponsaid chassis, said driving wheel l'iavingY a laterally projectingtubular hub, a friction clutch member rigidly mounted upon said hub anda cooperating clutch member supported upon said hub for lateral movementin engagement with said first named clutch member and means upon saidchassis actuated by the foot of the operator to move said second namedclutch. member into engagement with said first named clutch member tocause a rotation of said driving' wheel.

